article
Ifa divination
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland • 79 • Published In 1939 • Pages: 235-256
By: Clarke, John Digby.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is an account of the system of divination common to all the Yoruba peoples and with special reference to the system as it is practiced in Ilorin Province. It includes a discussion of the position of Ifa and Elegba in Yoruba theology; the mythology and history of Ifa; details of some consultations or seances; some related systems of divination; a description of the Odu system and the greetings and stories belonging to it; and a discussion of the profession and powers of the Babalawo (the practitioners of divination). An appendix on the order of the Odu is included. researchers should also note 24: Bascom, this file, which is highly critical of Clarke's article. At the time of publication, Clarke was Superintendent of Education for Nigeria.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Revelation and divination
- Spirits and gods
- Sacred objects and places
- Mythology
- Verbal arts
- Magicians and diviners
- Cultural participation
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Yoruba
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2009
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Government Official
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Timothy J. O'Leary ; 1959
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1933-1935
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1900-1940
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nigeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- J. D. Clarke
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- unk82052056
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Yoruba (African people)